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We currently live in one the most deprived areas of the UK - I believe it's in the top 3.
It's a very strange place as there are apartments selling for over £1 million and just a few hundred metres away there are typical council houses and a street which had the highest number of car-jackings in the UK just 2 years ago.

Now I'm not a snob, privileged, or whatever else you may be thinking. I grew up on a council estate myself and went to a comprehensive and it did me no harm. But you have to live in this area to understand it and essentially, that means all the local schools are not exactly the kind of place I want my daughter attending.
I've watched a neighbour's daughter over the last 6 years turn from an innocent, typical 10 year old into a foul mouthed, slovenly, lout doing things no father wants to think about.

So, I'm seriously considering homeschooling but I'm concerned about a couple of major issues:
1. Interaction with other children - I consider this to be essential for a growing child so how do homeschooled kids deal with this?
2. I left school 25 years ago - how the hell am I supposed to re-learn everything I've forgotten?

I look forward to hearing from anyone who has done this, ideally from the UK but all input is welcomed.

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Brogan - we're homeschooling our 9yo boy and 8yo girl and have since birth. We're doing something a little more toward the extreme end - Unschooling. We follow the kids' interests. No books, no tests, no pressure. In fact, if I were to take advantage of the special offer for multiple licenses right now, that's what I'd start a forum on.

To address your concerns briefly since I have to go get pizza out of the oven in a minute:

1. They will interact with other children through activities, sports, homeschooling groups, etc. Also, at the local library, playground, on vacations, in the neighborhood, and everywhere else you go. In addition, they'll interact with adults in a very much more sophisticated manner.
2. You don't start with Calculus, silly. You start with 1,2,3 and A, B, C. I trust you remember those?

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I don't think home schooling would be the option for you to be honest, you are right, you are 25 years displaced from current education, and that will have a big impact.

Have you considered boarding schools? I was given the option (as I was within walking distance) of attending Bromsgrove School... at the time I said no... something I wish I had reconsidered many many years back.

You just have to look at the reports... how many times do you see the word "outstanding" on a page.

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Well, we're not UK based, but we've been homeschooling/unschooling for years.

The BIG thing to keep in mind is:
YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING AT ONCE!
You only have to refresh your knowledge just a bit ahead of the student . And it's actually good to hit areas you aren't sure about and share with them HOW to find out the details. Learning how to learn and research answers for yourself will serve them very VERY well once they hit university/college level.

I find that being able to focus on what the CHILD is interested in, and use that to teach things, makes a huge, HUGE difference. The greatest thing you can teach is a love of learning. Schools are very hit or miss on that. And in a one to one relationship you can FAR more effectively tailor how you teach to the child rather than trying to force them into a one-size-fits-all mold that ignores the child's specific gifts and tries to make them "just like everyone else".

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I don't have kids yet, but I think I'd be interested in homeschooling if I was able to and wasn't able to send them to my old school... and of course it would depend what the local schools were like, but if I thought my kids would benefit from having a homeschooled education, and it would be better than the local schools, then I would seriously consider it.

I guess the questions I'd be asking would be, am I up to date on the details of the nation curriculum - could I teach my kids all of the important areas covered to a high standard? Would I have the time and space available to do it... and the discipline to ensure we stuck to a proper school schedule? I would want to make sure that the education they received at home would not place them at a disadvantage or take away from the interaction experience that is important in social development.

If I did homeschool, I would make sure that the kids got involved in several extra-curricular activities where they'd be able to interact with other children of the same age, on a regular basis.

I imagine, if there's stuff you don't know or that you'd need to re-learn, you could do a course of some kind or hire some tutors to cover the areas you're not so confident with?

Anyway, I'm not speaking from experience obviously, but those are my thoughts. Also, if you homeschooled up to the end of primary level school, you could always stop homeschooling for secondary level if necessary.

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I have twin 4 year old boys who will be 5 in July and starting kindergarten in September I just registered them last week and have a lot of fears. I live in Canada our school system is actually pretty good and we live in a very safe area. My fear however is that I don't think it matters where you live anymore our children are not safe from harm or from the influences of other children. I find so many parents have lost sight of teaching their kids respect and manners.

Personally my thought is the social aspect of what they would miss from not being in public or private school out weights the benefits of home schooling, but its also tough to sit back and see how public schooling and its influences affect our children. I'm very interested also to hear other peoples experiences that have gone the home school route.

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Home schooling can be fantastic, and I wish to God I had of done it when my son was younger.... Good Area, or Bad, both have their negatives believe me.....Early Schooling is everything, my son was in school in one of the best areas of Sydney, and had a very very hard time as he is slightly "different" (being an Aspie) and didn't fit in with all the Spoilt Vanilla little goodie two shoes kids, nor did I or he appreciate the bullying from the Teachers, and the Alpha male kids who had learned all they knew from their Aggressive Wealthy Alpha Male Dad's - who have pretty much ruined his school experience, and quite possibly his life.

Conversely we have moved out of the city to what can only be described as a very deprived and "challenged" area with a lot of underachievers and just such kids as you have described, and interestingly he has recieved a lot more help, and has not been subjected to any bullying here at all... and is doing comparatively very well, but then there is seriously ZERO expectations of these kids, and none of them have any ambition, nor do the teachers try to instill any in them.. it is a matter of "getting through" school around here.

As they say, give me the child until they are 7 and I will show you the adult.. so very much is crucial to early childhood development, it would be really worthwhile researching this thoroughly before making a decision.

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Ok Im sooo new haven't figured out how to quote yet But yes that is my main fear, Parents now a days claim to be to busy to spend valuable time with their children teaching them the important things in life like respect for others and manners. I am a full time Mom who also works full time for EA Games, but I am in a position were i currently work from home at awake at 4am my time and start work (The division i work for of EA is located in the UK). I believe that parents need to refocus career choices and adapt to ones that will most benefit their children not themselves. Parents need to make more time for their children. Ive heard the excuse to many times from even my friends that they have to work to support their family, which I fully understand but believe there are ways to do this without compromising your Childrens well being. I'm almost afraid for my children to grow up in this day and age.
P.S sorry if I took this off topic

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Brogan, I was 25+ years out of school when I went the homeschool route with a 12 year old...she was bored with 6th grade and falling behind but I knew she was smart...so we pulled her out and "unschooled" her just as James & Susan are doing. We did it for one year and then she decided she wanted to head back into the system...but on one caveat, if we could push for her to be advanced a grade. We pushed, got her tested out of the 8th grade (we homeschooled her the 7th grade). She passed the tests and tested out of the 8th, went into the 9th a year early for her age...and was finally challenged in her work. And still made A's her 9th/12 grade years My year of unschooling paid off.

If you think starting at the beginning is daunting, try it in the middle...when you ARE starting with Calculus. Liz

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Is it bad schools, or is it the influence of peers that causes kids bad behavior? Even a homeschooled kid needs a social life, and you'll need to consider that as well. If all the kids in the neighborhood are like your neighbour's daughter, then really moving away to a safer and nicer location is best for your kid(s). At a certain point, you loose control over who your kids associate with, and long distances will be the only way to correct it if she does start down the wrong path.

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I'm the result of a home-schooled kid, and I think I turned out okay, right? *twitch*

Of course, it wasn't for a long period of time nor was it permanent; usually my mother filled in the gaps when she couldn't find a school suitable (she always wanted the best of course... as annoying as that can be to a kid sometimes), and I often changed schools when my mom found something better.

If my mom knew she was going to be homeschooling me for a year or two, before the school I was currently in went on break for summer, she'd research the curriculum and get textbooks and workbooks needed so that I was at par with what school system requirement, and she had me work in gaps of time, usually no more than an hour or two and spread over the entire week, not just Monday-Friday. When I did go back into public schooling, I usually came back and surpassed my classmates in exams. In fact with the standardized tests they have here in Florida (FCAT), I was of the small percentile that got a score of 5 (highest you can get) in writing.

Still if I had to pick, it would probably be homeschooling. I had so much more fun going to museums, seeing, touching, and experiencing things that most students only learn through a small picture in a book besides some text. It's so much more engaging to physically see the places or artifacts that meant a lot to people in history. I don't want to actually be long-winded in this, but really if you take your kids out to parks, libraries, museums, art galleries, zoos, aquariums, and follow on things they really feel interested in whether it be sports, arts, writing or whatever it is, you'd end up with a child who is well-rounded when it comes to a variety of subjects. I've also realized I adapt a lot easier to changing situations, and make connections faster and find relationships where others can't without more of a push in the right direction.

Even when I was in public schooling, my mom made sure she knew what I was learning in class and continued to take me to museums and all that. I think part of the problem nowadays is that parents send their kids to school but also rely on school to do all the work. Parents also need to teach at home too, but it seems more and more are forgetting that. Taking them out to explore and freshen their minds from the four walls and a book we spend so much time and effort staring at really breaks up the monotony of learning in a standardized format, which I can see is part of the problem with why so many students hate learning and reading.